One of the prior art apparatus for distributing veneer sheets to a veneer treatment system, such as veneer drying system, having plural treating sections of different heights is a swinging-type distributing apparatus Z illustrated in FIG. 6. The prior art distributing apparatus Z is a conveyor having one end located in close proximity to a preceding veneer-sheets conveyor X and connected to a pivot for swinging movement. The apparatus Z is swung to distribute veneer sheets received from the conveyor X to plural treating sections of different heights of a veneer treating system Y.
One of the drawbacks of the conventional swinging-type distributing apparatus in that it must be swung within the angles which do not cause the sheet thereon to come back down toward the preceding conveyor X or go down toward the treating system Y. Therefore, the swinging-type apparatus must be manufactured to have a considerably great length in comparison with the veneer sheets to be distributed, so that that apparatus need not be swung beyond the foregoing angles and hence may convey the sheets in a stable manner between the preceding conveyor and the treating system. Thus, the greater the number of the treating sections of different heights of the treatment system, a longer distributing apparatus must be used. Hence, the swinging-type distributing apparatus occupies a relatively large space.
Also, where veneer sheets are to be distributed to a veneer treating system such as Y (drying system) of FIG. 6, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the swinging-type apparatus requires the front ends of the upper and lower components of each treating section of the treating system to be disposed out of vertical alignment with each other such that the veneer sheet may be smoothly supplied between the two components. Also as illustrated, in such a case, the swinging-type apparatus requires the whole front end portion of each treating section to be disposed out of vertical alignment with those of the other treating sections for the smooth supply of the sheets into each treating section. And if the front end portions of the treating sections are disposed out of vertical alignment, inner parts (such as heating plates) of each treating section must be correspondingly disposed out of vertical alignment with those of the other treating sections. Such a necessity makes the construction of the entire treatment system extremely complicated.